Michael Foster was
first elected as Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye on the
1st of May 1997. He was appointed Government
Minister for Equalities in June 2009.
Born and educated in Hastings he married his wife,
Rosemary, in 1969.
They have two sons, five grandchildren, and live in Wishing Tree
Road, St Leonards on Sea.
A lifetime member of the Labour Party, he joined
whilst still at school, and has been active in Local Government for
over 30 years.
Michael Foster was Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate
for the Hastings Constituency in the 1970s but did not stand again
for Parliament until his successful bid in 1997. He retained the
seat of Hastings and Rye in the General Election of June 2001 (with
an increased majority) and again in 2005.
He is a Solicitor by profession and an Employment
Law Specialist holding a Master of Laws Degree in Employment
Law.
He is a member of the Society of Labour Lawyers,
the Christian Socialist Movement, the Fabian Society and Park Road
Methodist Church in St Leonards.
In terms of a Parliamentary career Michael Foster
was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General from
1997 to 2003 when he resigned as a result of the Iraq
conflict. He also
served on the Select Committee for Standards and Privileges from
1997 to 2003 and was appointed in 2005 to the Select Committee on
Works and Pensions. In the June 2009 reshuffle he was appointed
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Equalities.
He takes a special interest in Poverty issues,
Equality issues, Animal Welfare and Climate Change.
He was made a Deputy Lieutenant of the County in
1993, one of the youngest appointed at that time.
His hobbies are tennis, table tennis,
walking.
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